The disclosure generally relates to a mechanical and thermal connection device, and more particularly to a thermal-conductance locking device with the purpose of securing one or more members in an electrical assembly.
An electrical assembly generally has a printed circuit board (PCB), a heat sink chassis and may employ a locking device. The locking device is typically used to keep the electrical assembly physically coupled to the heat sink chassis so that heat is dissipated from the assembly across the locking device to the heat sink chassis. Optionally the electrical assembly can also contain a heat spreader between the locking device and the heat sink chassis. The PCB typically has a plurality of electrical components mounted thereon. In operation, the PCB and/or the electrical components on the PCB can generate heat. The optional heat spreader and the heat sink chassis are thermally conductive and cooperate together to dissipate the generated heat to the exterior or to a coolant. The locking device is typically employed to firmly secure the PCB and/or the heat spreader onto the heat sink chassis and provide thermal conductance paths therebetween.
As electronic components operating temperatures are limited, it is normally desirable to remove the heat with a minimum temperature difference between the microelectronics and coolant. This translates into a desire for cooling solutions to have minimal thermal resistance. Currently, for most electrical assemblies, the contact interfaces among the locking device, the PCB and the heat sink chassis (or the heat spreader) are metal surface contacts (referred to as “metal bulk contact”). For metal bulk contact, the thermal resistance is primarily impacted by the roughness of the contact surfaces and contact pressure. However, in some applications, the roughness of the contact surfaces or the contact pressure is difficult to control.
Furthermore, miniaturization of electronic components has led to increased power requirements and high-density packaging, leading to an increase in heat generation per assembly. Therefore, there is a need to provide an improved locking device with greater thermal conductance to maintain the electrical assembly within temperature specifications.